


Kamen Rider Pharaoh | Yu-Gi-Oh! x Kamen Rider

by JetstreamMatt



Category: Kamen Rider - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26739112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetstreamMatt/pseuds/JetstreamMatt
Summary: A re-imagining of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters as a Kamen Rider season.The life of Yugi Muto is flipped upside down once he reconstructs the Millenium Puzzle, an ancient artifact found by his grandfather and left incomplete for thousands of years. Now, he is a target of those possessed by evil monsters seeking to recreate the Shadow Games, evil competitions forged in dark magic previously lost to time.The spirit of the nameless king from a forgotten era awakens inside the artifact and merges with Yugi's, allowing them to work in tandem to become the "Pharaoh", a mysterious hero masked in shadows that hunts down monsters and seals them inside cards.
Kudos: 2





	1. TURN 1: Transform!

An old man wakes up in his bed, stretching his arms and yawning in the wake of morning, or so he thought. He seems quite distressed as he looks at the clock on his wall, barely noticeable around the random gadgets, parts and boxes scattered around his bedroom. He starts walking outside to a scene that is very reminiscent of his own lair. Tons of shelves filled with toys, boxes and games, granted, considerably cleaner than his own room.

"Yugi! Yugi, my boy, are you there?!" The old man asks as he closes the bedroom door behind him, looking around over the balcony of what seems to be his shop before noticing the boy sitting down under a lamp, half asleep. The man approaches him and taps him on the back.

"AH!" The boy jumps out of the chair in shock, banging his knee on the table and knocking over an item, which panics him even more. He catches it just before it hits the ground.

"Gosh... Don't tell me you stayed up all night working on this thing."

"Sorry Grandpa! I know this is my first day..." He explains while hastily putting on a blue uniform. "But I thought... Actually, I might as well show you later." He starts packing up after awkwardly buttoning up his shirt. "Bye! I'll see you for lunch!" Says Yugi as he runs out of the building. As his grandfather smiles and waves, he waves back.

* * *

As Yugi arrives in his classroom, a familiar face meets him. He was tall, at least to him, and sported an unbuttoned uniform over a dirty green shirt.

"Well what do we have 'ere?"

"Joey!" He approached the delinquent-looking fellow and greeted him with a tight handshake, as customary.

"Another year of school, another year of madness. How's it hanging Yug?"  
  
"I'm fine... Just... Tired..." He says while trying to keep his eyes open. "Spent last night trying to solve the puzzle..."

"Still?" Asks Joey, half-worried. "Man, I'm telling ya, you're smart as all hell! If you're not done with it yet, it just doesn't have an answer! Ain't that right Tristan?" 

"Huh?" Asks the blank-faced student as he enters the room.

"Ain't that right?"  
  
"Uhhh, sure." He responds, before looking down. "Hi Yugi!"

"Yeah, if you slept more and stopped worrying so much, you'd be much taller!" Joey gestured over Yugi's head.

"But I'm so close to finishing it! I'm on the right track, I know it!"  
  
A short-haired girl approaches the friend group with a curious look in her face. "Finishing what?" She asks.

Yugi turns around as she approaches. "Ah, Tea!" he says while awkwardly greeting her.

"Ah, you know, that puzzle thingy he was working on last year" Tristan responds.  
  
"Aaaalright. I got an idea! Why don't we all go to Grandpa's gaming shop to help him out? I don't got nothin' to do after school anyway. What'dya say Yug?" Joey asks.

"Guys, I'm fine, y-"

"That sound great!" Says Tea.

"Yeah. You think we'd finish by the end of the day, Yugi?" Asked Tristan.

"Well, if that's alright... We could go!"  
  


After the agreement, the school morning passed by.

* * *

"Egh..." Yugi grunts as he opens his eyes. "Where... What happened?" 

"Ah, are you okay?" Asks Grandpa, cleaning dust off of the shelves. "You came over with your friends, but you fell asleep pretty hard. They told me they were helping you with the puzzle but... I asked them not to touch it, I thought you would be mad if they caused any trouble while you were asleep."  
  
"That's probably for the best..." He says as lifts himself up and sits on the couch, regaining his composure and mental strength. Yugi lifts the sleeve of his uniform he was still wearing to check his watch. "It's 7PM already? I must have really passed out."

"I was hoping you would have woken up sooner. You took quite the nap, young one. I'll let you work on the puzzle for the night, just try going to sleep before morning, okay?". The Grandfather finishes his tasks and opens the door to his room.  
  
Yugi smiles. "Thanks Grandpa." The old man goes to sleep in his room behind the balcony, while Yugi stands up and moves to the desk just beside the door to continue his work.

Hours pass, and Yugi feels he's made a lot of progress. Each piece fitting in perfectly as he had predicted. For the past year, he'd been studying and working on the pyramid-like object incrementally, but almost as if magic, he never managed to solve it. Tonight, he was on a roll, as he had been many nights before. Despite knowing deep down he probably wouldn't manage to finish it that night, he felt compelled to try his hardest. Yugi was always a meek child, and in his 14 years of age, had never been described as a go-getter of any kind. But this time, he felt as if it was his responsibility to find what mysteries the item held, even if at first unassuming.

His grandfather, Solomon Muto, who he loved dearly and had lived with for the past year and a half, had recovered the ancient, broken-up artifact in an expedition with a group of archeologists inside the pyramids of Egypt before he was even born. To him, it felt like something out of this world, and deep down, his adventurous and creative side was eager to see what secrets lied inside it. Until...

_click._

Yugi puts a piece in its slot. He looks to the right of the table for more pieces to pick up, totally absorbed in his work, before noticing there were none left. His heart started racing. He looked below the desk in a rush to see if any pieces had fallen off, before coming to accept the truth. He slowly picked up the golden artifact and rotated it around his hand, looking for any imperfections. He had finally done it. With a smile, he holds himself back not to scream. At 1:47 AM, he had finally finished the puzzle.

It was strangely anti-climatic. He was hoping something would happen. Maybe a genie would pop out to reward him. He could have been granted superpowers! Sights of the ancient past! Unfortunately, no such thing happened. He stared blankly at the item in his desk for about 30 minutes. He was hesitant to go around and show it to anyone on social media. Would anyone even care? Yugi's optimism was slowly fading, although a weight had been lifted from him now that he had finally achieved his goal.

* * *

Suddenly, the bell atop the door rang. " _This late at night? The lights are all out"_ Yugi thought as he watched a man stumble his way across the hall as he entered the shop. "Uh... Excuse me sir, the shop is closed, can you... Come back tomorrow?" He pleaded, while getting more and more tense. The man grumbled at him in response. Unintelligible sounds came out his mouth, as moved closer, dropping some of the games stored in the shelf with his large body and unusual movements.

Yugi started sweating. He held the puzzle close. "S-Sir?". The man, no, creature swung his arm toward Yugi while letting out a terrifying scream. Yugi, holding tight to the artifact, dodged out of the way, almost out of instinct, and rolled behind the man, who crashed his arm on the desk. With his blood pumping with adrenaline, Yugi breathed heavily while getting up from the ground after rolling away. Suddenly, the artifact started emitting a bright light. Yugi stared at it mesmerized, as he felt a strange connection inside his mind.

_"Run"_

A mysterious voice echoed inside of his head. Yet he stood still, processing the information. Meanwhile, the man turned around huffing for air as well. He grabbed his shirt by the collar and grasped the top of his head while screaming in agony. Ancient runes and marks appeared around his body as a magical circle emerged from his feet. A cloud of brown, dirt-like smoke filled the air around the man, who grasped for air, before engulfing him completely. From the smoke, emerged a terrifying monster. With one eye, completely green, a large stature and a terrifyingly visible skeleton, it growled like a ferocious beast before redirecting its attention to Yugi, staring at him with a soul-piercing glare from its one eye.

Yugi felt following the mysterious voice's advice was best, and ran away with the item outside of the shop, scared for his life. Unsure of where to go, he turning left on the alley nearby as the monster burst out of the building. He hid behind the alley wall as the monster looked around for its prey.

 _"Do not_ _fear."_ Said the voice inside of his head, which only managed startle Yugi, who let out a noise in shock, immediately alerting the monster, whose rapid steps were heard by Yugi who immediately ran toward the stairway on the side of the building. He zig-zagged his way upwards as the monster jumped high from the alley floor, grasping the rails of the stairway like an oversized ladder, quickly catching up to Yugi, who desperately ran towards the top of the building. There, he quickly realized he was cornered. No way down except jumping from a deadly height. The monster grabbed the ledge of the building roof and used it to propel itself, jumping up and landing menacingly near Yugi. The Cyclops creature's muscles were trembling as it slowly approached Yugi, growling like a wild animal. He was completely cornered, and turned back, opting to jump out, but deep down, he knew he would die either way. Perhaps choosing to accept his death, he covered his face with his arms as the monster raised its fist.

_"You seem to have put yourself in an unwinnable situation."_

The voice called as a blinding light flashed out of the artifact stunning the monster, who flailed its arm wildly while covering its blinded eye, backing off. Yugi slowly opened his eyes. Suspended in a white void, he saw a mysterious figure, who he somehow recognized as the voice he had been hearing. He could only imagine it as a familiar blur, eerily similar to himself, but it had no shape. Almost as if he was vaguely recalling a memory or imagining something that never happened. "Am... Am I dead..?" He asked.

"Not yet." Answered the voice. "In life and death, we all play by the same rule. You are not any different."

"What are you getting at?" Asked Yugi. He felt safe in this place, wherever it may be. It gave him time to breathe out, and properly assess things. "What's happening? Tell me!"

"What is happening is that you're about to die. You've made it your mission to reconstruct the Millenium Puzzle. Now, will you follow through and use it?"

"I..." Yugi is rendered speechless as a mysterious belt appears in his hip. Dark colors, filled with ancient runes all around. Its front side is oval and golden, forming an eye-like design with a large square hole in the middle.

"I've given you the hand you need to survive and fight. What matters now is what you do with it." The silhouette says as it fades away along with the white void. Yugi's vision slowly returns to the dark skies of Domino City, and faces the terrifying monster in front of him. The monster slowly regains its composure and sight, readying itself to strike once more, letting out a fierce battle cry.

Yugi, looks a the artifact, worried, but somewhat determined. He raises the puzzle above his head as if instinctively knowing what to do, and places the pyramid inside the hole in his belt, leaving its square base sticking out over it. With a serious expression, he places both of his hands around the top and bottom of the square respectively. Suddenly, Yugi slides both arms off the base, extending them out in opposite directions while a gust of wind is released from the force emitted. The pull twists the square base, turning it to a diamond shape. The mechanisms of the artifact activate, opening up the center of the diamond base to reveal a magical black void inside of the item. In the dead center of the void, the puzzle and the belt, stood what appeared to be an Eye of Horus, rendered in a bright, magical golden light, contrasting its pitch black surroundings.

Near Yugi's right hand, dark energies formed a mysterious card of magic. Instinctively grabbing it, it took the shape of a card. On its back, a picture of a whirlpool of dark magic. In its front stood pictured a powerful sorcerer, ultimate master of magic, and text reading "Dark Magician". Yugi knew what to do. He put himself in a battle stance, holding the card near his face as the beast charged at him.

 **"Transform!"** Said both Yugi and the mysterious voice in perfect synchrony.  
  
Yugi swung the card around him in an arc, passing through the center of his belt, where the eye made contact with the card's face. In that instant, a magical circle filled with undecipherable runes appeared below young boy, knocking away the incoming creature. As he continued the slashing arc before stopping his hand to his right side, the card soon vanished clouds of dark magic emerged from the circle below, quickly solidifying into threads of shadow that engulfed Yugi's body completely, as if trapping him in a pitch-black body, save for his blue uniform, which was unaffected. He grows considerably taller, and soon, from his hip, lines of golden light appear and travel across his body. Golden lines converge in his kneecaps forming diamond shapes, cover his feet and hand with protective golden tips on the fingers and sole respectively and join in his chest, forming an upside-down triangle in the center. They travel upwards, crossing his face as the shadow covers open as if being torn apart, revealing bright yellow lights that pierce the night in the shape of eyes in a mask. A small, golden winged crown is formed atop his forehead with an eye standing in the middle. Yugi's once spiky and abrasive hair now flows like wildfire, shadows of a pit of snakes dancing, with tips of his pink-ish red hair coloration remaining. The golden lines spike up over the crown and burst out, forming his iconic blonde bangs. The uniform magically extends into a long, flowing coat, receiving golden plating in its shoulders, tips, elbows and underside.

The creature attacks once more, but the shadow-like figure swiftly dodges by moving to the side effortlessly, and counter-attacks with a powerful kick to the jaw, launching the monster away. _"What the...?"_ Yugi thinks. _"This is... me... I'm controlling this body... How could I..."_

"I have returned!..." Proclaimed the pitch-black silhouette as it aggressively points toward the distressed monster "...To punish you for your sins!". It runs forward, and starts attacking the creature with a flurry of punches and kicks.

 _"This... This is you!"_ Yugi proclaims in his mind. "Yes. But I am you, as well." The voice responds out loud while fighting the enemy. "Just follow my lead." Every attack the Cyclops threw out with its burly arms would be useless, as the figure would easily dodge out of their slow advances with jumps and flips, counter-attacking accordingly.

"It's time to finish this duel." It said as the staggered creature stood before, severely weakened. The mage-like being assumed a battle stance with one foot behind as purple clouds converged and charged the leg with dark energies. Out of desperation, the monster ran forwards in hopes of landing a punch, only to be intercepted as the leg was moved forwards and delivered it a roundhouse kick to the jaw, leaving a trail of black magic in its arc. The monster immediately backed up from the immense shock, before ultimately falling back and laying on the ground, completely defeated.

Without making a noise, the figure walks over to the corpse of the monster and extends its open hand toward it. Its body begins decaying into floating lights that all merge, taking the shape of another card. Finally, the figure twists the artifact on its belt back to its original position, closing the hatch. The darkness slowly slithers away as Yugi's body is released. He walks over to the card on the ground and picks it up.

"Hitotsu-Me Giant..." Pictured is a monster, very similar to the one they had just fought. 

_"Its spirit was sealed inside this card. Keep it."_ Said the voice.

"Spirit..." Yugi looked at the card and the puzzle in confusion and frustration. "Just who are you...?"

_"I..."_

_"I don't know."_


	2. TURN 2: Water Hazard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Attached in the beggining is the design for Kamen Rider Pharaoh and the Millenium Driver.

Yugi enters the shop. It's 3 AM. It's a miracle that his grandfather didn't wake up from the noise, but he always was a heavy sleeper. He hurried to pick up every box and item knocked from the shelves by the monster, all while trying to calm himself down. It had just dawned on him what had happened, and as much as he wanted to ignore it, he had to get to the bottom of it. After putting everything back in place, Yugi opened the door to his room. It was surprisingly nice, at least compared to his Grandpa's. Painted white and blue all around. The TV was still on, and on the sports channel, even. Joey must have turned in on while visiting. Well, no use in wasting any more energy Yugi turned the television off, but still kept the lights on. Even though he survived that attack, he was still scared. He hopped onto the bed, and even though he was afraid, he closed his eyes, and dove deep inside his mind, back to that void.

* * *

"So, you don't remember anything about yourself?" Asked Yugi to the silhouette.

"I remember, I was a king. A pharaoh."

"A pharaoh? From Egypt?"

"Yes, if I recall. I had...a kingdom. I was... praised."

The king reminisced. His shapeless form expressed sorrow to Yugi, or at least he felt as such.

"So your memories are missing? How do you know?"

"I can feel them. They are here, somewhere. It must have something to do with the Duel Monsters."

"Duel Monsters?"

"Yes. Like the beast you fought just before. They're primordial beings, accessing our world by possessing living creatures, including humans."

"You mean... That monster was a person? What happened to them?"

"He had fallen too deep. The creature had completely consumed their spirit. They align themselves with humans through their wishes, often working in tandem. Seems that man wanted nothing but to pick a fight. But his will was too weak. He had been taken over."

"So... If someone is possessed by a Duel Monster, they can't go back? We have to seal them forever?"

"...Yes." Yugi felt remorseful. The idea that anyone could become victim to these creatures, and by then, it'd be too late.

"That power, the one we used before, it came from the Millennium Driver, the belt we used, it's connected to my soul. It allows us to utilize the powers of these monsters without being corrupted ourselves. I no longer have a body, so I must ask you to work with me. We need to seal these creatures away as soon as possible, or else the world might be in danger."

"That's..." Yugi struggled to say anything. Feeling pressured, he nodded, before leaving the space to have a good hour or two of sleep.

He woke up soon after, feeling surprisingly refreshed. Considering what he did last night, he should have felt much less capable.

 _"I can't hear your thoughts quite well, unless you speak to me, but I can tell you're confused."_ Said the Pharaoh, speaking from inside Yugi's mind.

"Huh?" Yugi said out loud.

_"When I take control, your spirit is pushed to the backlines. Your body doesn't feel as tired. You should be able to proceed just fine."_

"Well, that's a relief. I have to go to school, and then a birthday party."

_"'Birthday Party?"_

"It's when you... Ah, you'll know when we get there."

_"Wait. The Millennium Puzzle must come."_

"What? Why?"

_"Stand too far away and our connection will be temporarily severed. That, and we might have to utilize our combined power if we find a duel monster."_

"Fine, you're right." Said Yugi. Finally, after getting dressed, he picked up and dismantled a necklace he had in his closet, tying it over the bottom of the Millenium Puzzle so it would hang around his neck. With that, he said goodbye to his grandfather and headed to school.

* * *

"So, ya really did finish that thing, yeah Yug?" Asked Joey.

"I guess so!" He responded optimistically.

"I thought you'd be feeling good about yourself. You're even copying my style!" Joey pointed to Yugi's uniform, which had been left unbuttoned.

"Oh, I didn't even realize!"

"Well I'm happy you're gettin' fashionable. You're gonna be irresistible to the ladies now!"

"You're way over your head, Joey." Said Tea, joining in the conversation.

"Speaking of..."   
  
"Ehh, he's just joking around!" Yugi put awkwardly.

"Oh hi Yugi! That looks great!... Whatever it is... Sorry we couldn't help you yesterday."

"It's totally fine! I actually had a blast by myself."

He heard the Pharaoh speak. " _Are you attracted to this girl?"_

 _"D-Don't ask me that!"_ Yugi thought in response, visibly changing his expression.

"Anyways... Tristan's birthday party is today. You guys are going, right?" She asks cheerfully.

"Yeah, he did say that was today. So what're we waitin' for?"  
  
"For school to end." Yugi replied.

Joey let out a sigh of disappointment as they sat down on their desks for the upcoming class. Soon enough, school had ended, and they all headed over to Tristan's house together.

* * *

They arrived at Tristan's garage. Left open, it had been riddled with food and activities for his birthday party. There were already a few people there talking with Tristan, likely another group of friends, though as soon as he noticed the three new guests, he came over to greet them.

"So you guys did come! Shame Bakura couldn't be here though."

"Yeah. He said he really wanted to go, but he was still feeling sick." Said Yugi.

"With that said, it's still a bit too small of a party. Did we come early?" Asked Joey.

"Oh, I only really invite my closer friends to these kinds of things. My mom and my dad were still having trouble with the decorations, so I stayed home to help them out." Tristan responded. "So yeah, why don't you guys come and meet some of my other friends?"

The day continued normally for about 30 minutes. Eating, partying, talking. The group was having fun and celebrating. Tristan grabbed a breadstick, and attempted to take a bite. Before he could even sink his teeth in, something came flying at incredibly high speeds, knocking half of the breadstick right off and hitting the wall, before landing on the ground with a distinctive metal sound.

"A... coin?" Yugi asked to himself, half-whispering.

Hidden by the shadows of the dying sunlight coming from the garage door, came in a very slim and tall boy, styling spiked-up blue hair.

"It's you!" Tristan said with a smile before running up to the figure.

"Who else could it be, Taylor?" He greeted as the two performed an elaborate handshake.

"Guys, this is my friend Umimaru." Tristan announced with joy. "Back before I moved in to Domino City, we were best friends."

"I decided to visit him now to see what he's up to. I'll be staying here for two days. Sorry for not calling, I wanted it to be a surprise."

"W-Were you the one who threw that thing?!" Asked Tea, still shocked.

"Why yeah, back then, Tristan and I were the best sharpshooters in town at the good old age of 12. We used to slingshot fruits off of trees from four dozen meters away."

"You still remember that?" Tristan asked as if surprised.

"Of course pal. And with that being said." He grunted as he crouched slightly, picking up a half-transparent sack behind him, apparently filled with stones and glass bottles." I brought some target practice. How big is your backyard?"

* * *

After a while, they all moved to the backside of Tristan's home where various tables with empty bottles of beer on top had been set up. Tristan and Umimaru stood side by side, each with 5 rocks in their arsenal. As the round start was announced, both of them launched the rocks toward the targets. Umimaru managed to perfectly throw all five, hitting the targets in quick succession. The audience cheered. Meanwhile, Tristan's shots were lackluster in comparison. Only managing to hit two of the five targets before running out of ammo.

"What's the matter?" Asked Umimaru post-game.

"Eh... I guess I'm kind of sloppy nowadays." Tristan replied, carefree.

Now visibly frustrated, Umimaru came closer. "No way, dude. You were better than me back then. What happened now?"

"Woah, calm down man." Tristan backed off. "I'll get the hang of it. I'm just washed up now."

He groaned. "I'll show you "washed up"... And to think you'd still be down for this..." Umimaru left the party.  
  
Everyone stood there, not sure what to say. Tristan seemed sad. The sun had just set.

"Well, that's a shame... I wanted to go watch a movie to end it off, but I guess my party is over."

"Hey pal, don't sweat it." Said Joey. "If it's with you, we can go watch a movie tomorrow afta'noon!"

"Huh, really? The theater is quite the walk from here or school. I can't use my mom's car tomorrow."

"No worries, Tristan. We have to give you a complete birthday party." Says Yugi.

"Yeah, we're friends, that's what we do!" Tea completes.

"Then it's set! Thank you so much everyone. We'll have a lot of fun there."

* * *

As Yugi headed home, he hears a strange sound coming from an alleyway. He instinctively dodges back, avoiding an oncoming punch from a strange humanoid creature. Carrying a large torso, a mouth on its belly and a huge eye on its chest, this strange blue creature growls and screams as it attempts to tackle Yugi once more.

Still quite terrified, Yugi attempts to contact the pharaoh. _"I-I'm glad I didn't leave the puzzle back home." "You should be."_ He responds as the Millennium Driver appears in Yugi's belt. Yugi detaches the Millennium Puzzle from his necklace and places it in its slot. He rotates it, opening up the bottom diamond-shaped base and revealing the eye of Horus. As a magical circle appears below him, the attacking monster is knocked back. In Yugi's left hand, the Dark Magician card appears, before he slices it in an arc over the eye.

 ** _"Transform!"_** They say in tandem.

Dark threads overflow and cover Yugi's body before he assumes the form of the magical warrior. "I have returned." The deep and powerful voice of the pharaoh announces as he takes control. He charges towards the Duel Monster, who can't protect itself from the quick attacks the pharaoh delivers. It shrieks in agony as it receives a flurry of powerful kicks.

"This one seems considerably weaker" He comments.

 _"I don't know about that..."_ Yugi replies from inside his mind.

The creature had been knocked down. Charging up to deliver the final blow, A stream of energy is shot through the fiery strands of hair, which dissipate and reform as it passes, nearly hitting his body, only to then pierce the Duel Monster on the ground, who screams in pain as it quickly deteriorates into bright particles that scatter in the air and disappear. The Pharaoh lets out a gasp in shock. Yugi is even more terrified. Droplets of that assumed energy beam scatter and hit the Pharaoh.

 _"This is... water?"_ Yugi affirms as he feels it drip down on the Pharaoh's skin.

They look back as the Duel Monster fades. This form's powerful eyes allow them to see, from atop a building, far, far away, a figure with a long cloak standing, who immediately after being detected, turns back and runs away. "We need to follow that thing." Says the Pharaoh. They run up to the nearest alley and jump high towards the left wall, then, proceed to kick it, propelling them upwards to the top of the building.

They run and run forwards, jumping from building to building towards the direction they had last seen the perpetrator in. _"It died. It was killed by another Duel Monster, wasn't it? Why?"_ Asked Yugi.

"Duel Monsters play Shadow Games based on the combined will of themselves and their host, often violent. These often include other Duel Monsters. Sometimes it's a test of skill or might. Sometimes, it's much worse. If they kept these among themselves, it wouldn't be a problem, but innocent lives are at risk." The Pharaoh answers, still chasing the suspect.

Soon, they get it in their sights. The Pharaoh falls of the edge of a building slightly, before kicking it, launching them forwards at high speeds, ready to intercept the monster with a punch. It turns around at the last second and raises its hands, conjuring a wall of spinning liquid.

"Water?!" The Pharaoh asks, surprised. His fist had sunken inside the barrier. The Duel Monster moves its hands around as if casting a spell, shapeshifting the wall to form a tentacle, holding the Pharaoh by the wrist and launching them to the other side of the rooftop. 

The Pharaoh lands on his feet. Crouched, they slide back until they break their momentum. "Yugi, this one seems significantly stronger." 

_"I can tell."_ He responds. _"It seems to be protecting itself water. It shouldn't be that hard to break through. Right?"_

"Don't underestimate the-"  
  
As the Pharaoh spoke, a thin stream of water was shot through the-semi-transparent barrier. Hitting the Pharaoh right in the shoulder. They were instantly knocked back, both feeling the pain. From the other side, stood the Duel Monster with its index finger pointed at them.

"Damn it. It can still shoot? From this distance, behind its barrier, no less." The Pharaoh commented while recovering from the attack.

_"Ghrh... How can we approach them?"_

"We'll have to be quick. That's the only way."

_"I...I have a plan."_

Their eyesight could tell another shot was being charged from the fingertip of the monster. They breathed heavily simultaneously, waiting in place while holding their left arm.

"Now!" Exclaimed the Pharaoh. The stream was shot, piercing the wall behind them. They rolled away quickly, almost as if they had not taken any damage at all. The monster looked shocked, as if it wasn't expecting this outcome. The Pharaoh jumped as he swiftly dodged and fought the water tentacles emerging from the wall of water trying to intercept him mid, air. One last shot was charged up and fired, before they dodged it while falling down on the enemy.

 _"Now!"_ Said Yugi as, for a split second, what appeared to be a combination of dust, dirt and stone crumbles gathered around the Pharaoh's right hand forming into a rectangular shape. As it dispersed, it revealed a card. Hitotsu-Me Giant, the same monster they had sealed the night before. He moved the card down to be read by the eye. A spectral giant arm was conjured just behind his left arm, which was moved back from the dodge.

Winding up, the Pharaoh delivered a devastating blow utilizing the giant Cyclops arm apparition. Destroying the water barrier in an instant. From the shockwave, the Duel Monster was knocked back. Getting up, it cast another water barrier, which was broken once more by the Cyclops's might. Opening the monster up completely. With overwhelming strength, the Pharaoh delivered a powerful punch with the giant arm, sending the enemy tumbling away.

"This... Isn't fair!" Said the monster with a ghostly and distorted voice as it struggled to get up.

 _"It can talk?"_ Asked Yugi.

"Yes. Strong enough Duel Monsters have the ability to speak. Likely from their affinity with their host." The Pharaoh answered. "Now, It's time to finish this."

The Pharaoh extended his open right hand towards the knocked-down monster. Its energy was being absorbed, reduced to particles to be sealed away inside a card. While its monster form deteriorated, a human could be seen from inside. Its soul being chipped away. The boy looked somewhat familiar.

 _"T-That's... Umimaru!"_ Yugi shouted from inside. He took over his body once more and grabbed the Pharaoh's left hand, pulling it away from the monster.

"What are you doing!!?" The Pharaoh aggressively implored, fighting back to resume the sealing.

 _"I can't... I can't let you kill him like this. There has to be another way"_ He said as he struggled.

"You're too naïve! We can't let him get away!"


	3. TURN 3: Duelist Shootout

"We can't let him get away!" Says the Pharaoh. Their eyes, pure golden, piercing the night with a bright yellow light cutting its shape out of the shadow-like skin of their transformed state, moved as if organic, almost as if looking at one another with angry.

 _"We can't let him die, either!"_ Yugi shouted within his mind. In the meantime, the Duel Monster had escaped. Yugi let's go of the Pharaoh's hand, and is quickly forced out of the transformation.

Yugi hops on his bed, looking directly at his ceiling. He closes his eyes, and is sent to the void to speak with his alter-ego directly.

"What were you thinking?" The Pharaoh asks. "Now he's loose again, all because you didn't want any blood in your hands. Do you realize how selfish you're being?"  
  
"If there's no way to save them without killing them, then I don't want to fight these monsters anymore!" Yugi shouts.

"These people don't deserve redemption! If they are host to a Duel Monster, they are already evil enough to be victim of its influence. They must be purged."

"You don't know what they've been through!" He pleads.

"Huh?" The shapeless form of the Pharaoh seems surprised, almost.

"Is that how you were back then? Just sitting around all day with everything taken care of for you? Don't you think the people around you are going through their own problems?"

"T-That doesn't matter!" He answers, furious. "They are evil, and that's that! I will hear from your ungrateful mouth no longer."

"If it means I'll have to kill others, then I don't want to fight!" Says Yugi. "I don't want anything to do with this!"

The Pharaoh's image starts to fade away from his mind. "Fine then. If you don't want to fight, then I won't force you to. But you will have to deal with the consequences of your decisions."   
  
Yugi's vision is blurry as he opens his eyes, waking up at 7:30 AM. A voice echoes on the back of his mind. _"Our contract is over."_

"Yo! Yug!". Joey seems to be standing near a circle with his classmates. "You're not gonna believe this!"  
  
"I heard he's got a huge cape!"

"And chains all around!"  
  
"And fire coming out of their head!"

Those were all distinct comments coming from the circle whispering within themselves. "What's going on?" Yugi asks.

"Yestaday, people saw this crazy mysterious guy jumping from building to building! Like a Superhero! I heard he was fightin' a monster!"

Yugi was immediately hit with a wave of regret and embarrassment. _"People saw me?! Or... him! ...I should have been more careful... Not like it matters!"_ he thought. "Ehh... I don't know, I don't believe it. Maybe it was a movie set... or something?"

"No way pal! There weren't any cameras or anything. That guy's totally real!"  
  
Yugi felt indifferent towards the whole situation. It would be better if he could remain hidden. It wouldn't matter regardless, considering his pact with the Pharaoh had ended.

"Huh?" Joey exclaims after noticing Yugi's expression. "Don't worry Yug, I bet we'll find that guy one day."  
  
"It's... not that, Joey."  
  
"Well what is it?"

"It's... nothing...."  
  
"You're not makin' any sense!

"It's just that..." He gulped. "I can't go to the movies today."  
  
"Eh-" Joey looked at him, mildly confused. "It's alright man. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Thanks, Joey."  
  
Soon, class started. Yugi sat down in his desk, but couldn't be still in his situation. He didn't fully understand what was going on, only that the world was in danger, and for his selfishness, he had doomed everything and everyone.

"...Pharaoh." He whispered as he grabbed the Millenium Puzzle on his neck, but as much as he pleaded, there was no response. Maybe in the end, he was right all along. Maybe these deaths were sacrifices worth making to make the world a better place. Yugi felt terrible, as if just now realizing the consequences of his choices.  
  
The bell rang and Yugi ran away, zooming past the halls. Joey and Tristan were already there on the school gate, waiting for the whole group.

"Sorry! I have to go!"  
  
"It's fine, Yugi! I'll save you some popcorn!" Shouted Tristan so he would hear from far away.

"Y'know these things get real nasty when left overnight, yeah?"  
  
"I'll just put them in the fridge." He replied. Soon, the two of them would hear the faint sounds of someone stepping down the school entrance stairs. Joey turns around.

"Alright, everyone." Says Tea as her heels knock on the concrete steps. She wears pants and a jacket over a tank top, instead of her usual uniform. "How do I look?"  
  
"You were changing?! We're going to a mall, not a dance party!" Says Joey.  
  
"Says you, Mr. 'King of Style'." She retorts. "Maybe I'm just a considerate friend, who dresses appropriately for events like these."  
  
"Well I'll have you know we're passing by his house before the mall, so you just wasted a fit." Joey says, then looks at his friend. "Eh- Sorry Tristan."

Tristan finally turns around. "Huh? What? Sorry, I was spacing out."

"As always, bud. Let's go."

* * *

Yugi walks aimlessly around Domino City. He had missed his usual bus home, and instead paced mindlessly over the streets, unsure of what to do. Without the Pharaoh's aid, he felt as if he couldn't do anything in this world. As if he had let go of a life-changing opportunity.  
  
"I-... Pharaoh... I'm sorry." He whispers to the Puzzle again. No answer.

Suddenly, he stops. Yugi bumps head-first into something, his hair bouncing back and his body being knocked over to the ground. Trying to get himself up, he looks above him and sees a familiar figure. That same slim, blue-haired boy he had met at the birthday party, Umimaru.

"Umimaru... I-"

He stands there in silence, looking at the downed Yugi. He feels strange, as if something bad was about to happen. Yugi pushes his hands against the ground and lifts his comparatively tiny body up and off the ground, though slowly. At this rate, any subtle movement from either party would only serve to fill Yugi's anxiety at the moment. He finally gets up, and stares at Umimaru, unmoving. He shivers slightly. This was too much for him. Yugi curves around the boy and starts walking forward again, still holding the Millenium Puzzle tight. He passes by Umimaru.

"Every since I was a little kid..."

Yugi shivers. He feels a cold sensation all of the sudden. He felt as if he had almost escaped this world of anguish by a hair, but as he heard Umimaru talk, everything came back to him.

"Others would talk down to me, bully me. I was a good-for-nothing, a talentless loser just trying to get by. Until he came along."

Umimaru turns his head and shoulders slowly and faces Yugi once more. Yugi stands there, looking forward, paralyzed.

"Tristan... He was my only friend, and a real sharpshooter. I tried to be more like him, and people finally respected me for it, they saw me as someone capable. More than just a pushover." He says as he finally turns fully. "And now he's abandoning it, just like he's abandoning me!"

Yugi stands there still, in silence.

"He's your friend, right? I'd cherish that friendship while it lasts, If I were you..." He clenches his fist. "...Because I'm done with target practice. I've got him on my sights."  
  
Yugi grips the Millenium Puzzle tight.

"What's wrong, buddy? You're not transforming?" Umimaru asks, his voice distorting maliciously as the presence of the Duel Monster begins to become more apparent. "I should have known you weren't up to the challenge. I'll spare you, my target is Tristan and him alone."   
  
Umimaru continues walking on the opposite direction. Yugi, blank-faced, walks opposite to him as well. This time less frenetically, and in a more somber mood. He heads straight home.

* * *

"Yugi? You're back late." The grandfather says while cleaning some of the toys on the front balcony.  
  
"I... had some things to do, Grandpa." He says as he sits down and collapses on the sofa.  
  
Solomon looks at Yugi's expression, and realizes something is wrong. "Are you okay, Yugi?"  
  
Yugi thinks back to what happened, and grows the confidence to speak to his grandfather. "There's... This... Card game."

"A game? Well, you've come to the right person for advice." He puts one of the toys down, picking up another to rub with a wet rug.

"It's... hard. I was winning for a while, but now I feel like I can't win no matter what I do. Even If I try to, I'll just get myself in trouble."

He looks at Yugi's face and contemplates on the issue. "Well, in situations like these, it's what I always say. You have to believe in the Heart of the Cards."

"Heart of the Cards?"

"Yes, yes. Everyone is dealt a different hand in life, but if you believe in the Heart of the Cards, anything can be your next draw."

"But... What if my Deck isn't good enough?"  
  
"As long as you believe in yourself and the people around you, every card you find will be useful."

"My friends?" Yugi's eyes lighten up.  
  
"I'll tell you my boy. Those friends of yours are something special." He stops cleaning the toy for a second. "I'd do anything have some like those back in my young days. Keep them close, and put your trust both in them, and yourself."

Yugi gets up from the sofa and runs to the door of the shop before opening it. He turns his head back. "Thanks, Grandpa! I have to go."

Solomon is at first startled, but as the boy runs out of the shop with determination in his eyes, he cracks a smile.

Yugi starts running. His blood is pumping more than ever, both out of fear acknowledgement of his responsibility. He was the only one that could do it. Even if deep down, he knew he wasn't capable, it was his duty.

"Pharaoh, if you can hear me... With or without you, I will help my friends!"  
  


* * *

On the roof of a nearby building, the sun begins to set. Umimaru sits near the edge, observing the city. Steps can he heard from the inside of the building. Soon, Yugi bursts out the door leading to the stairs, tripping and falling in the process. He gets back up, tumbling, before leaning on the door for support.

"You're here... Why?" Asks Umimaru, getting up.

"I'm here to stop you! You can't do this, Tristan is your friend!"  
  
"Not anymore he isn't." He turns around and begins to walk towards Yugi. "He's abandoned me, just like he abandoned our town. And now, I've got a game I want to play with him."

"You can't kill him! Please!"  
  
" **You won't stop me!** " He screams in a distorted voice. Umimaru begins to run towards Yugi as magical circles appear in front of him. Water and mist clouds emerge from the mystical runes enveloping them and cover Umimaru entirely, evaporating and transforming him into the robed spellcaster figure.

Yugi grunts as he approaches and looks around, finding a construction pipe on the ground. He rolls to his left and picks it up as the monster charges at him. Umimaru stops his charge to strategically step and jump back, extending his arms and conjuring a wave of water. Yugi swings the pipe and disperses it, only to be met with an attack from the Duel Monster hiding behind the vanishing wave, slicing with its bare hands and long, tough fingernails. The slice leaves a cut on the pipe, which successfully blocks the slash, but he attacks once more in quick succession, knocking Yugi off his balance.

Yugi almost trips and falls, but manages to regain his composure and run behind Umimaru for another swing. Anticipating this, water comes out of his feet and forms a tentacle-like blob that surges out and blocks the pipe, absorbing it into the gel-like substance. Another tentacle emerged from the water and grabbed Yugi's leg, raising it up and swinging Yugi around helplessly. He launches the boy away and watches as his falling body hits the ground and rolls, devoid of hope.

Yugi struggles to get back up, but the wizard stands still in the distance, raising his finger and pointing it towards him.  
  
"This is what happens when you get between two friends." He says as bubbles begin condensing on his fingertip, emitting a blue energy that trembled with pressure. Yugi trie to stand up, and can barely hold still on his knees holding his bruised arm. " **Die!** " Umimaru shouted as the a bolt of pressurized water flew out of his finger at lightning speed, straight towards Yugi's debilitated body.

Suddenly, the Millenium Puzzle begins to shine. The intense light coming from the object creates a barrier that instantly protects Yugi and deflects the bolt up to the sky. His mind is once again sent to that same void, where he finds the Pharaoh, standing with his back turned.

"Pharaoh... I'm-"  
  
"Yugi."  
  
"I'm sorry." Both say in unison. "Huh?!" Yugi asks as he's caught off guard.

"What you told me, it sparked something within." The Pharaoh explains "A memory of mine came flooding back. The way I led my people, the responsibility that came with it. And the burden I had carry."

"You mean..."  
  
"My power, no, our power. We need to be responsible. If we're to save others from these monsters, we have to save everyone, no matter who."

"Pharaoh... Let's do this!"  
  
"Together."

In Yugi's hip, the Millenium Driver appeared in a flashing light. In a quick swipe, as if fully reinvigorated, he took the Millenium Puzzle out of his necklace and placed it in the Driver, all while Umimaru was left stunned.

"Umimaru, I will, no, we will stop you. This time for good!"

Twisting the base of the puzzle, the bottom layer opens to reveal the eye of Horus. The Dark Magician card appeared in a cloud of shadows formed in Yugi's right hand. He places it next to his face as dark symbols emerge from the ground.

"Transform!" They shout together.

Yugi slices the card over the eye, and as threads of shadow cover his body, the flowing magical coat appears to cover him and gold lines travel all across his body as it grows taller. Together, they transform into the mighty shadow-like protector of Domino City.

"Yugi Muto..." Whispers the Duel Monster. "You'll see what you've put yourself into!"  
  
"I am not Yugi Muto. I am the Pharaoh." He speaks in his signature, strong voice. "And I.... Have returned!"

He dodges the next pressured shot effortlessly, before rushing in to attack the monster. He delivers a flurry of kicks, most of which are blocked by water barriers put up by the monster's enchantments. A roundhouse kick is delivered right to the final protective layer the opponent had put up, and as the coat is flown magestically by the momentum, the powerful leg swing hits the shield right on, knocking the enemy away. As Umimaru hits the ground, he dissolves himself into water, reforming to stand straight up, avoiding damage from the inevitable tumble. Huffing and puffing, the monster raises its hands and summons various arms out of a body of water conjured by its mysterious magics, ready to attack the Pharaoh.

"The Heart of the Cards, huh..." The Pharaoh comments while stepping back.  
  
 _"Huh, you mean what my Grandfather told me about? You were listening?"_

"Yes. And I understand what he meant. Our bonds go beyond reality or time. I trust you, and I hope you trust me."

_"I do."_

"In that case, let's do this, together."

 _"Draw!" /_ "Draw!"

In a sudden slashing movement, they move their right hand back in a dramatic fashion. Dark clouds form around it, shaping themselves into a card. In the same movement they used to transform, the Pharaoh places it next to its face as if showcasing it.

"My memories are stored within these cards. Our power will go beyond the shadows of doubt, for it is our duty. From the depths of our mind, I summon thee, Magician's Rod!"

He slashes the card through the reader, forming a magical circle in mid-air. Stardust-like energy forms a spectral apparition of a large baton before the disk moves upwards to envelop it and render a large, dark scepter with red accents, complete with a dark green orb on top. The Pharaoh grabs the constructed tool.

_"A weapon"_

"It's not just a weapon, Yugi." He says as he twirls the scepter around his body. "The Magician's Rod is a card born from my memories, and indispensable tool. And most importantly..." The Pharaoh dashes forward as the waves of water limbs attack him. The one in the front row attemps a direct attack, but is soon blown away by a masterful swing of the staff. The Magician's Rod flows gracefully around the Pharaoh as it is swung, quickly eliminating the threats.

"Damn you..." Umimaru speaks, before being distracted. He looks to the side and notices a figure walking down the street from blocks away, and with his increased vision does the Pharaoh. "...Tristan."  
  
 _"Damn it, he's in sight."_

Tristan appears to be talking to Tea and Joey as they walked towards the mall.

"I've got you on my crosshair now!" He shouts to Tristan as swings his hand towards the Pharaoh, blindsighting him with a splash of water.

As he recovered his vision, the monster had jumped over to an elevated building next to them, his finger aiming straight towards the friend group in the distance. 

_"No! He's about to take the shot!"  
_

The Pharaoh steps to the side, spinning the specter above his head, quickly accumulating energy on its tip before pointing it forward, stopping it with his back, launching a powerful projectile attack towards the neighboring building. Before the monster could notice, he is hit in the head by a sphere of dark energy, knocking him over and twisting the water shot enough for it to miss entirely. Like dancing the night, the Pharaoh side steps and begins swinging the staff, releasing multiple homing magical bullets that lock in and hit their target right on as the wizard tries making its escape.

He points the Magician's Rod downwards, creating a large dark magic sphere, in a swift movement, he pitches the projectile upwards with the staff. As it bends up like a gelatinous ball and falls gently on towards the ground upon hitting its apex, the Pharaoh spins the scepter around and over his head, gathering enough force to punt it like a baseball. The sphere goes flying forwards, bending its trajectory like a boomerang to inevitably hit the Duel Monster in the back, exploding in an aura of dark force over the weakened creature.

As if to say "enough", the monster wipes away the burning dark magic remnant from the Pharaoh's assault and starts fiercely moving its hands, conjuring a massive wave over him that swiftly falls down to the lower altitude building, covering it in its entirety. The Pharaoh jumps high in response, but as he falls, the waves start circling around him. His ground is completely devoid of water, while the edges of the roof were all submerged in liquid raging out in a circle. From the edges, shots of compressed water jets popped and ricocheted all around, in a pattern impossible to predict. The Pharaoh is forced to dodge them all individually, but the effort is tiring and dangerous.

The Duel Monster stood atop the edge of the elevated building, preparing its shot at the Pharaoh. "Change of plans: I'll take care of you first, and then Tristan is dead in the water!"

One of the water jet shots is aimed at the Pharaoh's feet, as the water moves out, he jumps out of the way to avoid danger, only to fall right into the wizard's trap.

Bam! The shot is taken in mid-air and unable to move out of the way, the Pharaoh is hit with a deadly, crushing beam of water right through the heart. The waves stop as his lifeless body falls to roof floor, slowly fading away.

"Hook, Line and Sinker..." He whispers.e

"I wouldn't be so sure." A voice speaks from behind the monster.

"W-What?! But I-"  
  
Yugi's voice takes over, speaking through the Pharaoh. "I used this card to get away." He says as he reveals a green-colored card from his hand. "Illusion Magic! This spell card created that body double you killed. It was merely an illusion."

The monster attempts to to run away, but a quick swing of the Magician's Rod knocks them away to the lower building.

"It's time to finish this." Says the Pharaoh.

The Duel Monster attempts ot stand up, but before they can even get a chance, they look up to see the Pharaoh falling out of a twisting somersault onto him, his leg burning with dark energy. Umimaru attempts to conjure a powerful water current wall to intercept the attack, meanwhile, the Pharaoh assumes a flying kick position, with his charged leg pointing directly towards the opponent.

The fierce water current comes in contact with the kick, but before he can even react, the Pharaoh slides across and opposite to the current, twisting it with dark magic into a whirlpool. The magical whirlpool collapses as the Pharaoh's body comes closer, finally hitting the monster's face and ending the duel for good.

As the it all rains down like a water fall, wetting the roof floor, the Pharaoh lands on the ground after the kick, bouncing slightly off the concrete as the dark magic fades away from his leg. The monster lies there, defeated.

They soon approach the unmoving body of the monster. "Are you ready?" The Pharaoh asks.

 _"Hmhm."_ Yugi nods in his mind.

The Pharaoh extends his hand, absorbing the essence of the monster. This time, leaving behind the human host. Umimaru lies down, unconscious, as the Duel Monster is drained away and sealed. The Pharaoh looks at the card in his hand. "Aqua Madoor..." He de-transforms soon after.

Umimaru wakes up, and tries to stand up.

"I... For how long have I..." He says as memories flood back in. "Tristan..." 

Yugi stands still as the boy comes to his senses.

"Yugi Muto, was it?" He tries to smile as he stands up, but can't make light of the situation. "I'm-"

"No." Yugi interrupts him. "There's only one person I want you to apologize to right now." He says as he grabs his hand. He reaches for his pockets, and lends him four tickets, before walking off.

_"Those were... the movie tickets, yes? You had already bought them."_

"Yeah, I got them on my way back home, if I decided on anything..." He says, clearly exhausted. "...I guess it really did come in handy."

_"You're not going with them?"  
_

"I'm... I'm pretty sure I muscles are about to tear apart. The pain is only settling in now."  
  


* * *

The next day at school, Yugi speaks to Trisan upon entering the classroom.

"Yeah, he showed up there with four tickets and asked for forgiveness, or something like that. I don't know why. He was alright in my book! I'm just glad I got to see him again before he left the city."

Tea chimes in. "That, and Joey blew all of our budget on food and drinks, so we couldn't buy the tickets anyways. That was a nice save." She and the others hear his signature loduness coming from the main hall. "Speaking of..."

"Yo! Come in! Come in!" Joey says while recklessly running into the classroom, getting everyone's attention. "You won't believe what I got a picture of last night."

"Come on! What is it!?" Asks Tristan.

"Here! Feast your eyes! It's that dude from tuesday that was running up on the roofs!"  
  
"Wow!" Tea shouted excitedly. "That's him!?"  
  
"No way, dude!" Tristan exclaimed.

The entire class pushed each other to see the picture, screaming with excitement. Yugi tried to fit his short body into the crowd of classmates all hogging the space to get a clear view. He managed to sneak in under, and had a front-row view of the picture. The Pharaoh and Yugi examined it closely.

_"That's..."_

"Not us!"


	4. TURN 4: When Will the Knight Strike Next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE: Attached to Chapter 2 is the design for Kamen Rider Pharaoh and the Millenium Driver.

**ONE HOUR EARLIER**

* * *

Yugi is seen running through the streets of Domino City in broad daylight. He pulls up the sleeve of his uniform to check his watch once more, continuing to run with worry.

"I can't believe I got up so late... I thought I wouldn't even have the strength to get out of bed this morning."

_"You were gravely injured yesterday."_

"But here am I, running to school."  
  
_"While your mind is swapped with mine in the Millenium Puzzle, your body will gradually heal, eliminating the need for sleep or recovery."_

"That's a relief... If only it didn't make me wake up late!"  
  
_"That's on you."_

Yugi makes a sharp turn left, running into an alleyway. The smell is horrific, stemming from the trash bags left out of the dumpster and the decaying rats found all around. Yugi barely minds it. What matters is that it's a shortcut. Not paying attention, he bumps into something. His body bounces back and hits the ground. As he regains his composure, he notices he did not bump into something, but someone.

"I'm sorry, I-" Yugi is cut off from apologizing as he looks up to see three large men looking down on him. They all wear clothes with varying levels of stains and cuts, with jewelry strapped around their necks and fingers. 

"What do we have here?" The man in front asks, styling a ponytail, beard, and pitch black teeth. "Looks like someone's fallen into the wrong side of town, eh?"  
  
"I-I'm sorry! Sorry! I'll get out right n-" Yugi says as he turns around and tries to walk away, but he is once again cut short as the man in front grabs him by the collar and raises his tiny body face-to-face.

"Give us everything you got, kid."  
  
"I-I only have books, I swear!" Yugi tries and struggles to grab his backpack while being pulled from off the ground.

"What about this little thing?" The man points at the Millenium Puzzle. His partners chuckle behind him.

"That's... No! Don't!"  
  
"Stop talking, kid, you're done for." He says as he grabs the Millenium Puzzle, snapping it right out of the necklace. The man throws Yugi to the side and examines the artifact closely. "This is authentic looking, It could sell for a fortune..." Yugi can't help but whimper from the ground as the men hold up the item.

Suddenly, the criminal in the front is sent flying away as a man delivers a kick to their face. The Millennium Puzzle flies away and is caught by Yugi. The robber's body hits the pile of trash at the end of the alleyway. The man, wearing plain clothes and leather pants l ands on a fighting stance, challenging the other two. 

"You little..." The man on the left steps forward and leans in for a punch, but it is dodged and met with a blow to the face, knocking him out. A swift double jab is enough to take out the third. 

The young man turns around, standing tall above Yugi, who remained on the ground. "Didn't expect to see you here, Muto" He says in a friendly voice.

"Kishiko!" Yugi smiles as he gets up. "I thought you were in college!"  
  
"Well, I had some problems on the way." The man looks a few years older than Yugi, with short brown hair and a tall, athletic body. "Had to take care of some personal things, so I'm back in town."

"I never thought I'd see you again after you graduated... Not here, at least."

"As long as I'm helping you get out of trouble, it's not that different from when I was studying here, yeah?"

"...Yeah!"

"Hmph." He turns around once more, now walking away from the alley. "I'll see you around, Muto. Stay safe out there."

Going his own way, Yugi walks further into the alley, hoping to still get some use out of the shortcut, now with a smile on his face.

 _"Who was that?"_ The Pharaoh asks.

"Kishiko" Yugi replies. "He was my senior two years ago. Back when the guys from his class would bully me, he always had my back."  
  
_"He seems strong. Enough to take out those three villains."  
_

"He would always beat the bad guys up. Like a cartoon superhero. It's kind of like we do."

_"So it seems..."_

* * *

**PRESENT TIME**

_"That's..."_

"...Not us!"

The picture taken of the vigilante looked nothing like the Pharaoh, but instead, a bulky warrior wearing dark and sturdy armor, standing in the shadows.

"Eh, what?" Asked Joey to Yugi. "I couldn't hear you."

"Uh, nevermind." He says as the crowd of students wanting to take a look at the city's mysterious watcher pushes him out of the way to make room. As the excitement died down, Joey went back to looking at the picture closely.  
  
"Man, this is so cool. I can't believe I caught him with my camera flash!" He said in an excited voice, before turning around to the other side of the classroom. "Hey!" He shouted at a student standing on the back row, before coming there himself, his friends following along.

He held the picture up in his face, the student completely indifferent to its contents. "Is this part of your dad's business, Kaiba?" He asked.

The student looked up from reading his book and stared at without moving his head. "First. Don't speak to me so casually. Second. If this was my father's doing, I would have known of it by now."  
  
"Oh come on! You're like the world's richest kid ever! You gotta know something!"

"I would rather you stop talking, whoever you are."

"Joey, are you crazy?" Tea told him. "This is Seto Kaiba you're talking to. Leave him alone."

"Oh who cares anyway? He's just a snobby nut!" 

"Sorry for the inconvenience!" Yugi interrupted while grabbing Joey by his sleeve and pushing him back.  
  
"Hey! What the hell?" Joey reacted, proceeding to argue with Tea and Tristan on the side of the classroom.

Meanwhile, Yugi dove deep into the void of his mind to speak with the Pharaoh.

"This has to be a Duel Monster." Said Yugi.

 _"_ No doubt about it. And from the looks of it, a threatening one.

"But how can we find it?"  
  
"If it's shown itself like this, It's not very good at hiding. Duel Monsters are not prone to revealing themselves like this unless deliberately. It must be active right now."

"Then we just have to search for it."

* * *

In the afternoon, the Pharaoh jumps from building to building while transformed.

"Judging by the time it was caught on camera, it's nocturnal."

 _"Joey's home is somewhere around here. If he snapped the photo as he was going home, then he must be active around this area.  
  
_Suddenly, from a distance, an explosion could be heard by the Pharaoh's augmented hearing.

"Or not."

From a few kilometers away, what appeared to be a warehouse near the pier of Domino City was set ablaze. The explosion had lit near the entire block on fire.

_"That has to be something. Let's go!"  
_

"Wait. Use this." Said the Pharaoh as he raised his forearm. In his hand, a card is materialized.

_"'Dark Magic Veil'?"_

"It will let us move there faster." The Pharaoh swipes the card over the eye of the Millenium Puzzle, creating a circle of ancient runes beneath them. The circle creates threads of darkness, forming a veil that engulfs him completely, before disappearing from the rooftop.

Kilometers away, now near the pier, the veil appears once more out of thin air, releasing the Pharaoh, who falls to the ground, before dissipating away.

 _"Ugh!"_ Yugi's spirit growls in pain.

"It does... _Ght_... Have a drawback." He says as he gets up, struggling a bit. "But it makes things much easier."

They now stand in front of the lit up warehouse. The Pharaoh jumps over the lit up entrance and makes his way to dry concrete floor, where he finds two figures facing off.

_"it's the knight!"  
_

The same knight they had seen in the pictures pushes away a Duel Monster, a humanoid, octopus-looking creature with flames coming out of its tentacles. The Knight holds out a lance and points it at the Duel Monster's throat.

" **Where is the dragon?** " It asks in a menacing voice.

"I-I don't know!" The comparatively less menacing monster replies. "I've only ever seen them once."

" **No leads, and not even putting up a fight.** " The knight growls in anger. " **You are truly worthless. Die!** " it shouts as he pulls back and thrusts his spear into the the Duel Monster's neck, with it piercing and leaving a crack on the ground, the Duel Monster dissipating into dust. The Pharaoh watches in horror as the knight turns his head around, looking directly at him.

" **Did the Dragon send you too?** " It says as it raises its spear up, pointing it at the Pharaoh as a threat. The Pharaoh remains speechless, slashing the Magician's Rod card, summoning it to his aid. " **Let's see what you've got.** " The knight assumes a fighting stance before rushing in.

The Pharaoh parries the tours of his left lance, but the second right one catches him off guard, hitting him on the side of the stomach. The spear thrust sends him flying forward as he breaks his landing with his right hand. He gets up and starts twirling the Magician's Rod around, releasing barrages of homing dark magic projectiles towards the knight, who rapidly pierced them in mid-air as they landed.

" **How much are they paying you to fight me like this?** " The knight asks. The Pharaoh continues on silently. Each spear thrust gets harder and harder to predict as each swing of the rod is shrugged away by the advancing opponent. One final attack is enough to seal the deal, launching the Pharaoh to the walls of the warehouse with extreme force. He starts to pass out as the impact of the hit shakes the burning building as it crumbles down.

" **You are an worthy opponent. Survive tonight, and we will meet to fight once more."** Says the knight as he walks away, disappearing into the flames, the Phaaraoh falling unconscious.


End file.
